On Wednesday, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall officially ended his short but sweet time as a Chelsea player.
Chelsea signed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 26, from Leicester City a year ago. In just one season with the Blues, the English midfielder scored five goals in 36 games across all competitions, winning two trophies as well.
However, Everton confirmed earlier today that they have completed the permanent signing of Dewsbury-Hall, who’s signed a five-year deal with the Merseyside club.
Even though Dewsbury-Hall struggled for regular minutes at Chelsea last season, starting only two Premier League games, he was a key figure in the side that won the Conference League tournament. He played five matches when Enzo Marsca’s side won the Club World Cup this summer, too.
Alan Pardew doubts Everton’s move for Dewsbury-Hall, but we’re pretty confident that the box-to-box central midfielder can shine under David Moyes with consistent action.
- READ MORE: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall shares what convinced him to ditch Chelsea after Everton move is confirmed
Chelsea fans excited that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall exit opens door for Andrey Santos
Last season, Dewsbury-Hall played a supporting role to Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in central midfield. He was behind Romeo Lavia in the pecking order when he was fit as well.
According to Chelsea fans on X, Dewsbury-Hall’s departure means that Blues youngster Andrey Santos, 21, will get his crack in the first-team squad in the new season.
One fan wrote: “Andrey Santos looks set for a big season at Chelsea. The sale of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall shows the faith the hierarchy has in him. With a PL and UCL football returning, it’s a huge chance for the Brazilian to prove himself under Enzo Maresca.”
“We have to let him go to create space for Andrey Santos’ integration into the team,” another posted.
One supporter claimed: “KDH (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall) was a good squad player, nothing special. You need squad players who will fill in & maintain team morale. Santos is probably his replacement.”
“A bit sad, but if thanks to this Andrey Santos gets more minutes, then there’s even less regret,” another said.
After massively impressing on loan with Strasbourg, Santos returned to Chelsea for the Club World Cup and is now working with the senior group during pre-season. The 21-year-old central midfielder was outstanding last term in France for Strasbourg, so supporters can’t wait to see him at Stamford Bridge.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 34 | 11 | 5 |
Chelsea value Santos very highly despite potential interest from Inter Milan this summer.
The Brazilian youngster, who can operate as a deep-lying playmaker or a box-to-box midfielder, definitely adds some extra competition for the Blues in the centre of the park.
Barcelona were gutted when Chelsea beat them to signing Santos back in 2023, and now we’re optimistic that he’s ready to show why he’s so highly rated.
Chelsea’s midfield pecking order
It will be fascinating to see how Chelsea head coach Maresca picks his midfield in the upcoming season.
On paper, Caicedo, Fernandez and Lavia are fighting for two spots if Cole Palmer is in the No.10 position. We’ve seen that the Blues manager can be flexible and fit them all into the same XI if he wants, though.
On top of that, Santos and Dario Essugo are two fresh options in midfield we expect to get minutes throughout the campaign. However, they will clearly both need to impress on the training pitch and in games to climb the midfield pecking order.
Maresca was outstanding at rotating his squad over the course of last season, but it could get a bit more difficult with Champions League football to juggle.
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